


Children of the Bad Revolution

by BombshellBattalion



Series: not really killing time so much as euthanizing it (marvel ladies) [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, Avengers Family, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/F, Fantastic Four Cameos, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Grant Ward, M/M, Multi, Red Room (Marvel), The Avengers Are Good Bros, Wakanda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-15 09:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10553834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BombshellBattalion/pseuds/BombshellBattalion
Summary: Izabella is a ghost from Natasha's past, however, with the aftermath of the Winter Soldier and the fall out with SHIELD, things that are buried tend to resurface at the least likely of times.





	1. where we start from

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She understood the world and her place in it. She understood nothing. The world and her place in it were nothing and she understood that.”  
> ― Joseph Fink, Welcome to Night Vale

Her name is not Izabelle, not yet, this is the name they give her, not the one she is born with. She does not remember her birth name.

\+ + +

**WAKANDA APRIL 28TH 1950**

She is six when she is taken from her home. The men come in the night, they are after the metal, but they find her. This is the first time she has seen white men, her country is secluded, closed off, safe from the outsiders, or it was.  
She is six and meant to be asleep. Her mother is asleep in the next room, and her father is still at the palace. The air is warmer tonight, and something feels wrong. She rises from her bed, quiet as to not wake her mother, and creeps out of their home.  
Outside, nothing seem out of place yet something still feels wrong. The girl circles her house, quietly, keeping her sleeping mother in mind, she makes it back to the entrance when the source of her paranoia shows themselves.  
Six strange men enter the space outside her house, they are dressed in black, their white faces being they only things shown. This is what alarms her the most. White men have not been in her homeland in many years, and even then they were not meant to be there, they had come to steal the countries metal, small teams and groups. A man brought an army once, the King and the people had killed their leader and banished the rest. These strangers were not welcome here, and she knew she was in danger.  
"Ungubani?" She asks the stranger, slowly stepping backwards towards her home. They do not reply, instead they look to each other, seeming to communicate non-verbally, they seem to come to an agreement. It does not sit well with the young girl.  
"Как вы думаете , что она понимает по-английски," One of the men says to another, who shrugs in response.  "We, err, we mean you no harm." The man says, he walks forward while the others stay behind. "Do you, err, speak, err, English?"  
The girl does not reply. Fear fills her eyes, and her hands begin to shake.  
"дерьмо," another one whispers, "he said no witnesses."  
The girl is close to her house now, she should call to her mother, she would know what to go. One of the men seems to realise what the girl is thinking as he says, "быстро кто-то схватил ее , прежде чем она плачет."  
Two of the men rush forward, to fast for the girl to react in time. One grabs her arms and places a hand other her mouth, the other grabs her body. She begins to squirm as much as she can, she scratches and bites as the men carry her away into the trees.  
She bites the man's hand and manages to yell out, "Nceda! Umama! Umama! Nceda!" The man grabs her mouth again, as they see her mother ran after them, screaming for them to stop.  
The leader of the group stops and waits for her mother to catch up to them. He says something to her and she seems to plead and beg in response. She is on her knees now, crying, begging, she is desperate to get her daughter back.  
The man shoots her mother in the head.  
\+ + +  
The men take her with them.

She does not see her home again.

\+ + +

They take her to another country, it's cold and confusing and she can't understand their language. She doesn't want to be here.

She tries to escape one night, once the men had gone to sleep and the one keeping watch had wondered off. She climbed out the bathroom window and from there she ran as fast as she could. But the cold got to her faster than she was prepared for, having come from a warm climate she had never experienced the cold this extreme and her body gave out sooner than she would like to admit. The men found her a few hours later collapsed besides a tree and on the verge of death.

She was punished for the attempt.

She did not try again.

\+ + +

**MOSCOW RUSSIA**

Sometime later they part ways, the men bring her to an 'orphanage' and it is the last time that she seems them. The man who runs the orphanage makes her learn two new languages, Russian and English, he tells her that she is being trained to become a ballerina, he tells her that she is an orphan that she was rescued, he tells her that her name is Izabelle, and she begins to believe him.

There are twenty seven other girls at the orphanage, they all come from Russia and they all share similar complexions, she is the odd one out and this worries her handlers.

She does not fit in with other girls, socially. Her Russian is barely understandable and her English is worse, she is clumsy, and her hair takes longer to brush. The handlers take her away a lot; more than the other girls, they teach her languages, and punish her when she speaks in her mother-tongue. She quickly begins to think in English and speak in Russian; she begins to forget her own language, there is no room for it here.

They begin to experiment on her, they tell her that she is too noticeable; that she needs to be able to fit in to her environment; her skin is too dark and her hair is too big, so she begins to adapt. She can change her facial feature by the time her is twelve, she can change her skin tone at thirteen, and she can reinvent her whole body at fourteen.

She is the perfect weapon.

But she is not their favourite.

\+ + +

She meets Natalia after their dance class. They are in most of the same classes but had never actually interacted before. The girls are packing up, Natalia was stood by her guardian, a tall man called Ivan Petrovich, Izabelle watches as they interact, she knows that they are close, he is her guardian after all; but she can see it in the way that they stand together, close enough to talk but far enough away so that they can see behind the other. Natalia is rarely seen without Petrovich, but Natalia is rarely seen as it is. She is their favourite; she is smart and fast and the best at seduction, she is what the rest of the girls strive to be.

The pair eventually notice that Izabelle is still in the room, they nod to one another and Petrovich leaves the room while Natalia approaches her. The red head stops about a foot away from Izabelle, looking down at the brunette. Izabelle is one of the shortest of the girls, standing at five foot four, the rest see it as a weakness, but Izabelle knows how to use her height to her advantage.

Natalia holds her stare for a whole ten seconds, Izabelle knows that this is a test for Natalia to see if Izabelle is worth her time, no one messes with Natalia, no one dares to try.

"Hello," Natalia speaks after a while.

"Hello." Izabelle replies.

"Kristina is away at this moment, and I need someone to spar with. Would you spar with me?" Natalia's voice is almost monotone and her eyes hold a challenge.

Izabelle takes a moment to gather her thoughts. She knows that Natalia is dangerous - all of the girls are - and she knows that Natalia only ever spars with a selected few girls, girls that she respects. "I will spar you."

Natalia holds her eyes for a few moments after before she finally nods and a small smirk appears on her face. As she turns and leaves she calls out "Meet me in the training hall at eight. Do not be late."

Once she's gone, Izabelle finally releases the breath she didn't realise she was holding.

* * *

Translations:

1\. Ungubani - "who are you?" - _"who is there"_

2\. Как вы думаете , что она понимает по-английски - _"do you think that she understands English?"_

3\. дерьмо - _"shit"_

4\. быстро кто-то схватил ее , прежде чем она плачет - "quickly someone grabbed her before she cries" - _"quick someone grab her before she cries"_

5\. Nceda! Umama! Umama! Nceda! - _"help! mother! mother! help!"_  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> Hello!  
> In this timeline, it basically follows the plot of CA:WS but instead of revealing all of SHIELDS details, they actually asked Tony for help, and he and JARVIS helped to weed out Hydra.  
> Also, Phil is known to be alive by the Avengers and acts as their handler and liaison between themselves and SHIELD.


	2. like nothings broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He had danced with fair maidens before, but Odette was different. She was graceful and beautiful, but there was something in her eyes and in the things she said, an intelligence and a boldness that belied her quiet demeanor.”  
> ― Melanie Dickerson, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest

**METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY, 15th JUNE 2014**

Natasha was nervous. She had face Hydra, assassins, aliens, but this? This was nothing compared to that. She could kill a man with her thighs, she could kill a man with a paperclip, she could do anything... except this.

"Are you starting to loose your nerve?" Clint asked from his spot on the couch in the dressing room. She was watching him in the reflection of the mirror, as he lounged on the white couch throwing grapes into his mouth.

Scoffing, she replied, "Of course not, don't be ridiculous."

"Why are your hands shaking, then?"

Natasha looked down at her hands in shock, having not released that her body was betraying her and showing her clear anxiety. Resting her elbows on the dressing table, she dropped her head into her hands, "What if it's not what I was expecting? What if something goes wrong? What is I'm not good enough? Oh, god! Clint, this was a mistake!"

Clint sat up, looking at his friend, "Listen, Nat. I don't know how this is going to go, but I do know that you want this and I do know that you'll be amazing, and even if you're not, I won't even know or care because I just want you to have a good time." Clint paused, running his hand through his hair, "You've had a hectic past couple of months, you need this, and I won't let anything ruin this for you; including you," Clint stood and walked over to Natasha, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna do a great job, Tasha."

Natasha acknowledged the hand on her shoulder be giving it a  squeeze with her own hand, she whispered a quite "Thank you," as she let her hands drop and she sat up right again, locking eyes with her reflection.

"I'm gonna go and find my seat; I'll see you after the show." Clint spoke as he began to leave the small room, "Break an arm!"

Smirking at Clint's words, Natasha took a deep breath and readied herself for the show.

\+ + +

Tony had managed to arrange for Natasha to perform with the American Ballet Theatre for a one off rendition of Swan Lake. It was a gift, or an apology (depending who you asked), for her involvement in taking down Hydra and all of the hassle that they had faced in the beginning of the year with the Winter Soldier. The theatre was an invite only occasion with close friends, family, trusted associated, and some industry specialist being invited. He had managed to organise all of their schedules to allow them all to come together for the one night to celebrate Natasha without having to worry about the legal fall out with the thing with SHIELD.

"How's she doing?" Tony asked Clint as he sat down.

"She's doing better than I was expecting," Clint laughed, "She hasn't maimed anyone yet, she's just a little nervous, but she'll get past that."

Tony nodded in response, falling silent as the music starts and the curtains rise.

\+ + +

Natasha stands in the wings of the stage, watching as Act One commences on stage. She feels the nerves beginning to rise in her stomach once again, but also excitement, here she stands about to perform as the lead role in a world renounced Russian ballet, this is all she has ever wanted, so why did the feeling of dread begin to form?

Turning from her spot, she walks until she finds a dark corner to compose herself. She has never had to deal with anxiety before, it was a weakness that would have gotten her killed in the Red Room, a liability in the field. She knows that her teammates will stop anything from disrupting the performance, she's confident enough in her abilities to know that she will not fall or make a mistake, and she knows that Tony would only allow the best of the best to dance with her on stage, so she does not know where this negative feeling is coming from, maybe-

"Excuse me," Natasha looks up to find a trembling stagehand before her, he's holding a boutique of various flowers, some of which Natasha can recognise including lily's, orchards, and roses. The boy states, "Err, these were sent for you, I, um, I know that I'm meant to place these in the dressing room, but, err, she told me to give them directly to you, sorry." The boy manages to stammer out, her hands Natasha the flowers and hands her a card.

Unsure of what else to do, Natasha thanks him and allows him to scamper off. Holding the flowers, Natasha begins to feel a bit more at ease, she holds the card up and reads the front, _Natalia_ is written across in hand writing that Natasha would recognise from anywhere.

Her heart skips a beat as she comes to the realisation that _she_ was here, or at least she had been here. Just as she begins to open the letter another stage hand approaches her.

"You're up in thirty; you need to get into position."

Natasha nods, "Can you get these to my dressing room, please?" Handing them to the stage hand as she heads back to stage.

She manages to get into position as Act One comes to a close, she manages to get a glimpse of the crowd, and more specifically the Avengers as she waits. She's glad to see that they all seem to be paying attention, even if she notices Sam, presumably, explaining the plot to Steve. She does a quick scan of the crowd as the dancers begin to move around her, and right as she begins to step on stage she notices her.

The hold eye contact as the female gives Natasha a soft smile and a nod of the head.

The music begins

\+ + +

"Holy shit, Nat! The was amazing!" Clint exclaims as he bursts into dressing room, the rest of the Avengers trailing in behind him.

"That was pretty good," Tony speaks as he moves to lean on her dressing table, smirking as he picks at her chocolates.

"Well done, Natasha, I though it was fantastic," Steve adds as he and Sam take seat in the couch.

Natasha receives a nod and smile full of praise from Bruce as he places himself in the corner of the room.

"Thank you," Natasha says, before turning to Tony, "Thank you for doing this."

Tony's cheeks a light shade of pink as a genuine small forms on his face and he pulls his sunglasses down to his eyes, "No problem, Nat." Tony eats another chocolate before clapping his hands together, "So where does everyone want to eat?"

"Pizza!"

"I don't really mind."

"Err, Italian?"

"Don't mind."

The room falls silent before Bruce speaks up, "How about I make dinner at home?"

The room collectively agrees as they begin to file out again.

"I'm going to stay a little longer and pack up, but I'll meet you at home." Natasha tells the men before they all leave.

"I'm going to stay and help Nat," Clint adds, placing himself back on the couch.

"Well, okay, we'll see you guys soon," Tony tells them as he shuts the door behind the group.

Once the room fall silent, Natasha lets out a large sigh before beginning to look through her flowers and gifts from various people. She hands most of the edible gifts to Clint, saving her favourites by placing them in her bag. After a while she gets to sorting through the flowers when she remembers the note from her.

Attempting to not alert Clint of the note, she discreetly opens the letter;

_Natalia,_

_uthando lwam_

_You looking breathtaking tonight and I want you to know that I am so proud of you._

_I know that I have promised to stay away but I cannot miss this moment and I will deal with the consequences but it will be worth it._

_I will love you forever and always,_

_yours,_

_Izabelle._

Closing the note, Natasha takes a moment to compose herself, having not spoken to the girl for a while she found that she had missed her dearly, but she also knew what would happen if they were to meet face to face once again.

"Nat?" Clint asks, "You ready to go?"

Tucking the letter in her bag, she grabs the boutique from Izabelle and her bag, "Yeah, let's go home."

* * *

Translations:

1\. Uthando lwam - _"my love"_


	3. words we don't say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime.”  
> ― Mineko Iwasaki

She can't bring herself to tell Clint about the note, mainly because she knows he'll tell Phil, and Phil would _have_ to tell Fury, which would create a shit storm for everyone involved. For now she focuses on the present and the continuous task of tracking down the Winter Soldier.

After the events at SHIELD, they had called in Tony and alerted him to the infestation, and with his and JARVIS's help, they had managed to expose most of the Hydra agents that resided within their organisation, and also outed many who worked in the government and other public offices.

Which lead her to here.

\+ + +

**Niagara Falls State Park, NY, 2014**

"Are you sure he came this way?" Whined Clint from the back of the minivan.

"Tony said that there's been some reports that match his appearance heading towards this area. He's probably going to want to cross the border," Explained Steve with a troubled look on his face.

Clint, Sam, and Natasha had agreed to go with Steve on this expedition. The team had began to split up 'Bucky duties', and Sam and Natasha had been chosen for this particular one, Clint was here because he wanted to go sightseeing... and he was avoiding having to talk to Phil regarding his latest attempt at bothering the 'baby agents'.

"We should get out and start to explore the area," suggested Sam from the drivers seat.

They had had the foresight to come in civilian disguises as to not alert anyone of importance of their being there. So with a nod, the small team began to file out of the minivan and disperse into the tourists surrounding the landmark.

\+ + +

After about four hours of scouting the area (and Clint's constant complaining over the comm), they had converged at Terrapin Point, Clint unsurprising sucking on a ice pop, to which Steve gives him an amused look.

"Anyone see anything suspicious?" Asks Sam, once they're all standing together.

"No."

"No."

"I saw a little kid taking a shit by a tree."

"Clint-"

"-but besides that no."

Steve sighs and his shoulders slump, "Well, okay, we'll stay a few more hours and then we'll head back. I'll call Tony and see if there's any new information."

Steve pulls out his StarkPhone and he and Sam walk off towards the railing. Clint and Natasha share a look and head back down the path that they came from.

"Do you think he's ever going to stop?" Clint asks her, as they walk side by side down the path.

"I don't think he can," Natasha admits, "Plus, Tony won't stop until he finds Bucky for Steve."

"He's whipped," Clint chuckles.

"Totally."

The pair lap into a comfortable silence as they walk around the park. They take to people watching while they scan the crowds for the missing assassin, it's peaceful, and comfortable, and then things start to turn bad.

"Nat," Clint whispers, and he comes to an abrupt spot, his focus entirely on an object that Natasha can't see yet.

"What is it?" Natasha begins to turn and try to figure out what has gotten Clint so on edge, that's when she sees it.

"Is that Izabelle?"

Shit.

\+ + +

On the other-side of the park, Sam watches as Steve finishes his phone call with Tony.

"Yeah, thanks Tony, I'll see you later. Remember to eat something," Steve has a small smile on his face as he hangs up the phone, Sam turns the other way so that Steve doesn't see his smirk.

"Alright, Tony says that he hasn't has any other leads, but he says he's set up an alert to see if Bucky pops up any where," Steve explains as he turns to Sam.

"So, what's the move now?"

"Just going to stay for a couple more hours just to make sure he hasn't or is going to come through," Steve tells Sam, "And when we leave, Tony said to just drive the van to Rochester, and he'll come and pick us up in the jet."

Sam nods, and motions for the pair to start walking again.

"So," Sam begins after a couple of minutes of silent people watching, "You and Stark, eh?"

Sam smiles coyly when a small blush appears on Steve's face, "What? No! I mean, what do you mean?"

"Oh, don't act like that," Sam nudges Steve with his shoulder, "All those late nights in the lab, all those reminding him to eat, _and_ don't forget Monday night, don't think we didn't notice how he feel asleep on your shoulder during the movie."

Steve looks down clearly growing more flustered as Sam went on, "It's not like that. At least I don't think so. Maybe. I don't know Sam, I've never had anything like this before."

Sam holds his arm out to stop Steve, "You do know that it is alright to have that sort of relationship, right? It's not illegal anymore and it's quite common, I mean just look at Clint and Phil's thing."

"Yeah, I _know_ that Sam, but I'm still just getting used to it all," Steve admits, "I need to be comfortable with myself and my own feelings before I start anything."

"That's cool, dude. I'm proud of you," Sam speaks with a smile. "Let's go and find the two murder twins before Clint gets formally banned from yet another state park."

\+ + +

"What is she doing here?" Clint asks, as the pair subtly move closer.

"I don't know," Natasha admits begrudgingly, hating to admit when she was out of the know, "Hopefully, it's nothing to do with the same reason that we're here."

The pair watch as the dark skinned woman walk further along the path towards Luna Island, she pulls out a disposable camera and begins to snap photos, looking in place amongst the other tourists. She walks up to the rails, where she stops and looks over.

"Maybe, she's not actually doing anything," Natasha says, a hopeful tone in her voice as the pair move to sit on the rocks.

"She's always up to something," Clint replies with an edge of spite in his voice. "But how'd she know where we were going?"

Natasha tenses for a second, dreading Clint's reaction, "Don't get mad, but she was at my Swan Lake performance-"

"Natasha!" Clint turns to her sharply, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"She also left me flowers and a note," Natasha admits, "I didn't want to tell you because you'd have to tell Phil."

"Nat," Clint says softly, "I wouldn't tell Phil if you asked me not to, I want you to trust me."

"I _do_ , I just know how you're like when it comes to her."

"That's because she's not a good person, Tasha-"

"-neither am I, Clint," Natasha cuts him off.

"She tried to kill you."

"You don't _know_ that."

Clint grabs her hand and waits for her to look him in the eyes, "You're compromised when it comes to her, and you know it."

Just as Natasha is about to reply, Steve and Sam find them.

"Alright, it's time to leave," Steve announces as he reaches them.

"But-" Clint begins as he and Natasha turn to where Izabelle was standing, only to find her gone, leaving only her camera where she stood. "Shit."

"What is it?" Sam asks, as he and Steve turn to where the assassins are walking towards.

"One of Natasha's acquaintances was here," Explains Clint, "She's very dangerous, and has past relations with Hydra, I _think_ she was here for the same reason we were."

While Clint is talking to the boys, Natasha approaches the camera and picks it up. "Guys, she left a note."

_Stop trying to look for him._

"Told you."

"Shut up, Clint."


	4. you do not have to be good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “In other news, a recent report suggests that things may not be as they seem.”   
> ― Joseph Fink, Welcome to Night Vale

**AVENGERS TOWER, MANHATTAN, NY**

"Well, shit."

Nick Fury sat at the head of the conference table in the missions rooms in the tower. After the first few missions, Tony had realised that they needed an official place for briefings as Clint seemed to get too distracted in the main living area. The team had gathered in the missions room, the day after their small group had returned from Niagara Falls, and they had the unfortunate task of having to tell Fury and Coulson about what happened.

Nick turned to Phil, and continued with his speaking, "If she's on the playing board then we know that we're in a lot deeper shit than we previously thought."

With a sigh and a small shake of his head, Phil turned towards Natasha who was sat between Clint and Bruce, "Why didn't you tell us that she had been at the performance?"

Normally, Natasha wouldn't have a single trouble in circumstances like this, but this was different, Clint was right; she was compromised. "I didn't think it would be an issue that was worth looking into," Natasha explained, maintaining unwavering eye contact with the senior agent, "She's known to show up at random places occasionally for no reason, I thought this was one of these instances."

Phil and Natasha held eye contact for a while after, the tension in the room rising as neither seemed to back down.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Tony spoke cutting the tension, "But I think we should begin at the obvious place. Like, who the fuck is Izabelle?"

Phil and Natasha finally broke their stare down and relaxed into their chairs. Sighing at his two agents, Fury spoke up, "Izabelle is a highly dangerous, very powerful individual. She trained in the Red Room with Agent Romanoff, and is essentially the only girl that was evenly matched with Romanoff. She's had known ties with Hydra, A.I.M, Hand, and The Brotherhood -"

"-Of Mutants?" Sam interrupted.

"Yes, of mutants." Fury clarified.

"She's a level ten mutant," explained Natasha while she turned to her teammates, "She has similar powers to Mystique, such as shape shifting, and extraordinary strength and healing."

"If she's a mutant, why can't we let the X-Men deal with it?" Asks Tony.

"She adapts; also known as a _mimic_ ," Clint says with bitterness in his voice, "The X-Men can't face her without the threat of her copying their powers, that's why she's our problem."

The room falls into a brief silence while they take in the archers words.

"I get why she's a problem," begins Bruce, "But, why is it worse if she's involved with the Winter Soldier? Or at least thought to be?"

"Because we don't know who she's working for, why she's looking for Barnes, or what her intentions are." Phil rubs his temples slightly, "Basically, she's a time bomb and we don't know who has the detonator."

"What's the plan?"

\+ + +

**HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA**

Izabelle wonders around the farmer's market, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious. It's been three days since she had seen Natalia and her little bird, she had hoped that the red-head would listen to her for once but she knew how much the bird despised her and knew she only had a short period of time before she had to move again.

She had last seen the Asset three hours previously, the plan was to follow behind him, making sure to clean up his trail and leave some red herrings along the way, but with the looming threat of the Avengers she knew that this would have to change soon and she would have to interact with the Asset and pray that he believes her.

Part of her regretted her indulgence of seeing Natalia perform, but she understood herself enough to know that she wouldn't miss it for the world.

A notification on her phone brings her out of her train of thought, the phone alerts her to a police report that matches the description of the Soldier in Kingston, with a small curse she puts her phone away and makes her way back to her car.

Checking that everything that she needs is accounted for, she quickly goes to her hotel and checks out. On the way back to her car she runs into a man leaning against the hood.

"You've been busy," The man teases as he eases of the car and casually approaches her.

"Ward, it's good to see you again," She smirks, "How have you been? Good, I hope."

The man chuckles as he stops before her, looking down at her he tells her, "We're going to get in the car, you're going to drive about half an hour North, and then we're going to be having a little talk, understood?"

"Of course, sweetie," Izabelle reaches up and plants a small kiss on his cheek, "Let's get going, we haven't got all day."

\+ + +

Izabelle stops the car on the side of road, the pair get out and walk to a clearing away from any prying eyes.

"There's some people that are not very happy with you, Izabelle," Ward stated.

"And I can imagine there's some people not very happy with you, _Agent_." Izabelle responds.

Glaring at the woman, Ward continues, "Don't think we didn't notice your little _excursion_ to watch the Widow perform."

"What I do in my free time is my own business, I didn't realised I had to inform someone every time I went for a piss."

Ward chuckles darkly, "Just tell me where the Asset is, and I'll _think_ about not reporting you."

"I'll tell you when I know where he is."

Ward sighs and looks up to the sky for a brief moment, "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Iz, I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Well, don't do anything that makes me have to hurt you then." Izabelle stares Ward in his eyes, an obvious challenge being be initiated.

"I don't want to have to do this," Ward almost sounds regretful, but they both know its insincere.

"Did you come alone?"

"Of course not, they've been following us since we left Hamilton."

"Perfect."

A brief look of understanding flashes through Wards eyes before it's overcome with panic as he watches as Izabelle morphs into a reflection of himself, only with bruises, torn clothes, and a split lip.

"It was lovely to see you again, Grant." Izabelle smirks in his voice as she moves with lightning speed, knocking him out swiftly.

Izabelle, or Ward, manages to move the unconscious man into the undergrowth before the back up agents arrive.

"What happened?" One enquires.

"That bitch got away again, but I think I know where she's going." The mutant lies.

"Where is she heading?" Another asks.

"She's heading to Detroit, she said something about the Asset just trying to throw everyone off his trail."

"Alright, let's get going. Are you going to follow us in her car?"

"No," Izabelle explains, "I'm going to head back towards New York, just to make sure she wasn't lying."

"Good plan," The Hydra agents begin to return to their vehicles, "Remember to check in once you arrive."

"Will do," Izabelle smirks as she watches them start their engines, "Hail Hydra."

"Hail Hydra."


	5. when levees break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sometimes it is easy to forget which things in the world can feel pain and which cannot.”   
> ― Joseph Fink, Welcome to Night Vale

**MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA**

Izabelle tracks the Soldier down to a rundown hotel in Montreal. She poses as a housekeeper so that he lets her in, she can't leave any sign of forced entry. He watches her as she moves about the room, she makes sure to speak French around him, attempting to trick him into letting his guard down.

"Voulez-vous plus de serviettes ?" She calls from the bathroom. She places herself so that the Soldier can see her as she moves, she knows if she moves out of sight he will become suspicious. 

"Err, no, thank you," he replies as he begins to pack his bag on the bed. His voice sounds hoarse and tired, Izabelle can't imagine he's slept well in a while.

She moves from the bathroom, and begins to make the bed around him. She takes into notice the long-sleeved top and the presence of a glove over his left arm. "Comment était votre séjour?" She asks him, looking up through her eyelashes, she makes sure to give him a slight smile, no teeth.

The Soldier begins to look a little uncomfortable, "I don't really understand that much French," he admits.

Izabelle giggles, "Do not worry about it," she makes sure to stress the French-Canadian accent, "I asked if you enjoy your stay."

"Yes," The Asset replies, "It was very nice."

"I am glad," Izabelle tucks a stray part of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Are you going home now?"

The Soldier continues to fold his clothes and packs a separate backpack full of journals, "Not yet, I'm looking for something that I need before I can go home."

"What are you looking for?" Izabelle says as she fluffs the pillows.

"Myself."

\+ + +

**UNNAMED SHIELD BASE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK**

"We're going to need a way to contact her so that Agent Romanoff can lure her out," Explains Agent Coulson in the briefing room.

The Avengers sat around the conference table, all looking a little disheartened. They had spent the last two days trying to track Izabelle down, but she was illusive, and given the fact that she could change her appearance in a second, it was starting to seem impossible. Not even JARVIS had found anything.

"Is there any way you can talk to her?" Asks Tony.

"No," Natasha explains, "When she usually wants to talk or contract me, she finds me."

"Maybe, she's put a tracker on you?" Suggests Bruce.

"There's no way we wouldn't have picked up on a tracker," Clint spoke bitterly. He had been in a bad mood since the whole ideal had begun, it was clear to the rest of the team that there was no love lost between Clint and Izabelle.

"We're going to have to figure something out soon," Steve looks towards Coulson, "I don't think I can handle losing Bucky again." Both the spies notice the brief look of despair that graces Tony's face.

As the boys start to talk at and to each other, Natasha tries to figure out how Izabelle seems to know where she was at all times, it was worrisome, she was a globally feared assassin, she shouldn't be able to be tracked that easy. Maybe-

An alert from her StarkPhones almost makes her jump, it certainly surprises the rest of the team. Everyone that had her number was in the room. So, who was texting her?

She looks up at Coulson, silently asking whether or not she should open the message. With a nod from her handler, she reads the message aloud. 

_"Hydra agents heading to Detroit, they're tracking the soldier, figure out how, stop them - Fox x"_

The room returned to the tense silence.

"Who the _fuck_ is Fox?"

"Sam!"

\+ + +

**MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA**

Izabelle has finished cleaning the room, and the Soldier is preparing to leave.

"S'il vous plaît ne soyez pas en colère." Izabelle whispers, as she moves to lock the door. This, of course, causes the Soldier to tense up and produce one of the many knives he had hidden on his person.

"What are you doing?" The Asset asks tensely.

"Успокойся, я не Гидра," Izabelle responds as she moves to shut the curtains, well aware as the Asset watches her every move.

"кто ты? что ты хочешь?" The Asset clenches his metal arm.

"I'm a friend, and I'm going to help you."

\+ + +

**DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AMERICA**

The Avengers apprehend the Hydra agents just outside of the city, they take them to one of the many SHIELD safe-houses which is located on the Port of Detroit.

The team are sat in various places outside of the interrogation room, waiting for Clint to emerge. They had been at it for a couple of hours now, and the Hydra agents weren't speaking. Tony, Steve, and even Sam had had a go at getting them to talk, now it was Clint's turn, and if he failed, then Coulson would have to send Natasha in. He hoped for the agent’s sake that they decided to talk to Clint.

Unfortunately, for the agents, Clint stalks out of the room, knuckles bruised and bloody, he marches to Coulson who grabs him on the back of his neck and pulls him close to him, willing him to calm down. "You're up, Romanoff."

Natasha does not enter the room.

The Black Widow does.

\+ + +

The Avengers hear the first screams after two minutes and seven seconds (a new record, Coulson notes). The team apart from Clint and Phil flinch at the sounds. Sometimes, Phil forgets that they weren't trained for espionage, the way that his two assassins were.

The screams gradually get louder, and more bloodcurdling. Phil takes note of how the team reacts to the sounds, he'll have to make sure that they undergo the formal training needed for these sorts of missions. When he notices the pale complexion of Banner and Stark he becomes concerned. They all know that Banner is very against violence (abuse does that to you), but they tend to forget that Stark had faced unimaginable torture for three months. They all get into the habit of seeing Tony as the civilian, when in reality he had been raised to resist torture since his first kidnapping at aged four.

"Captain," Coulson spoke, making sure not to jog Clint, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, "Would you mind if you took the team to another location? Just until the interrogation is over." Steve follows Phil's eyes to his visibly shaken teammates.

"Sure thing," Steve stands, "Hey, Tony, are there any nice places to eat in Detroit?"

\+ + +

Natasha emerges bloody and unfazed a few hours later.

Phil looks up from his magazine, "Got anything?" Nudging Clint awake.

Natasha nods, remaining silent. Phil analyses her body language, and realises that she's going to need a few minutes to compose herself, it had been awhile since she had had to interrogate someone. 

"Alright, we'll go and round up the rest of the team," Phil stands, pulling Clint with him, "We'll meet you on the jet in twenty minutes." Phil waits for Natasha's nod before exiting with his agent in tow.

Natasha waits for a couple of seconds after Phil has left before she allows herself to return.

She collapses to the floor with her head in her hands and behind to heave. Her breakfast makes a reappearance on the floor before her, and tears spring to her eyes.

The voices in her head cry out in anger, calling her weak and pathetic. 

She knows that she needs to get a hold of herself, she's got a mission to finish. There is no time for weakness. Just as she begins to reach the dark places in her mind, her phone rings.

"Hello?" Natasha asks, attempting to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. She had not seen the caller ID before she had answered. She was getting sloppy.

"Natalia, are you alright?"

"Izabelle, you can't be calling me."

"I don't care, Возлюбленный," Izabelle speaks gently, her voice soothing Natasha, "Are you okay?"

Natasha pauses, she could never lie to Izabelle. "No," she finds her voice cracking against her will, a sob erupts from her chest, "Izzie-"

"Oh, Natalia, shh, shh," She can hear Izabelle moving about on the other side of the line, "Let it all out, Возлюбленный, it's okay."

Natasha tries to focus on Izabelle's voice, "Izabelle, I can't breathe."

"Do not worry, Возлюбленный," Izabelle pauses, she knows what Natasha needs right now, " _Колыбельные, люли, лысеньки, Где ты, где ты, голуби? Летите на кровать, Начинайте ворковать. Колыбельные, люли, лысеньки, они прилетели к кровати, присел у твоей головы, Охрана вашего сна, начал coo, начал засыпать_."

Natasha finds herself calming to the lullaby, once she is able to catch her breath, she speaks, "Thank you."

"I am here when you need me, Natalia," she can here the smile in Izabelle's voice. "Natalia, love, I need you to stop looking for us. It's not safe for you."

"You know I can't do that, Izabelle," Natasha says as she wipes the remaining tears from her cheeks.

"I know," Izabelle signs, "Just be careful."

"I'll try."

"я люблю тебя." Izabelle whispers.

"я тоже тебя люблю."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> 1\. Voulez-vous plus de serviettes - "do you want more towels?"
> 
> 2\. Comment était votre séjour - "how was your stay?"
> 
> 3\. S'il vous plaît ne soyez pas en colère. - "please to not be angry"
> 
> 4\. Успокойся, я не Гидра - "calm down, I am not Hydra"
> 
> 5\. кто ты? что ты хочешь? - "who are you? what do you want?"
> 
> 6\. Возлюбленный - "beloved"
> 
> 7\. Колыбельные, люли, люленьки, Где ты, где ты, голуби? Летите на кровать, Начинайте ворковать. Колыбельные, люли, люленьки, Они прилетели к кровати, Присел у твоей головы, Охрана вашего сна, Начал coo, Начал засыпать - lullaby - "Lullaby, lyuli, lyulenki, Where are you, where are you, little doves? Fly on the bed, Start to coo. Lullaby, lyuli, lyulenki, They came flying to the bed. Sat down by your head. Guarding your sleep. Started to coo. Began to fall asleep."
> 
> 8\. я люблю тебя - "I love you"
> 
> 9\. я тоже тебя люблю - "I love you too"


	6. here is a secret that everybody knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are we living a life that is safe from harm?  
> Of course not. We never are. But that’s not the right question. The question is are we living a life that is worth the harm?”   
> ― Joseph Fink, Welcome to Night Vale

**THE RED ROOM ACADEMY, MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1959**

Izabelle is fifteen now, and her handlers believe that she is ready to begin missions. She has been in control of her powers now for nine months, and is finding it easier to shift every day. She hopes that she is able to go on missions soon.

Natalia is eighteen now. She still trains with Izabelle, and the mutant believes that they are perhaps friends, or at least something close. She finds herself missing the presence of Natalia when the red-head is on missions, and she finds that she cannot rid herself of the joy that feels her on the rare occasions when she gets the older girl to smile.

Natalia is due home today and Izabelle can feel the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing her again. The other girls seem to grow in their hate of Izabelle since her formed alliance with Natalia, she believes that it is jealousy, Natalia is the best agent after all.

Izabelle rises from her cot and hangs her legs off to the left as she waits for one of the guards to begin to unlock the handcuffs that attach her to the bed frame. She can't help but gaze at the empty cot several spaces in front of her, where Natalia should be sleeping. She suddenly catches the harsh glare of Daiyu. The Chinese girl seemed to hate her with a fierce passion, Izabelle dreads today's classes, the girl had been sour towards the rest of the them since Ivanna had been sent on a deep undercover mission to New York.

The guard unlocks the final girl, and they all simultaneously stand and wait for one of the guards to open the doors. The file out in a line into the mess hall, grabbing their breakfasts they sit and eat in silence, there would usually be slight murmuring between the girls, but today Madame B was watching.

Madame B was feared throughout the Academy, even the girls' handlers dared not to look the woman in her eyes. It was largely speculated by the younger girls that Madame B drank the blood of the 'weak ones'.

Izabelle couldn't help but feel nervous at the presence of the woman. Usually, if you had the misfortune of meeting Madame B, it meant that you were ready for the next stage of the programme, The Black Widow Ops Program.

Izabelle had seen how it had changed Natalia when she was chosen last March. She had become withdrawn and quicker to anger, she had scars on her stomach which she had refused to explain and when they completely healed with the week had not mentioned at all.

In her peripheral vision, she sees Madame B whisper to one of the main guards. The guard nods, and motions for the other guards to commence with the usual routine.

One guard stomps his foot twice, and the girls all put their glasses and cutlery down, any food that was uneaten is forgotten. They then all stand and turn to face the door which leads to the courtyard, and then table by table they begin to leave.

As Izabelle's line is motioned to go, one guard places a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place, and without question Izabelle steps over the bench and remains at his side. She watches as the rest of the girls leave, and she manages to catch the small smirk that is hiding on Daiyu's face.

"Madame B would like to speak with you," The guard mutters to her.

She can feel a small sense of panic rising through her being, she does not believe she is ready to become a Black Widow yet.

The guard leads her to a small door located on the east side of the room, she had never seen this door open before, she had believed that it was a store closet of some kind. The guard knocks twice and waits for the door to open, the hand on her shoulder seems to grow heavier as the time begins to pass.

Eventually, the door opens. It reveals a large office, with white walls bare of anything except for the desk and two opposing chairs stationed around it. The guard prompts her to enter with a small nudge, he closes the door behind her.

She can feel the eyes of the two armed guards who are standing beside the door on this side. She feels as though she is going to crack, and accidentally display the outward actions of her anxiety when Madame B speaks from her spot at the desk, as she continues to write in a notebook.

"Please, take a seat мой ребенок," her voice sounds smooth like velvet, this does not comfort Izabelle.

 The room remains silent expect for the constant sound of pen across paper. Izabelle feels the growing need to fidget as the anxiety grows.

"Izabelle, correct?" Madame B asks as she finishes her writing, closes the book, and gives Izabelle her full attention. This is defiantly worse.

"Yes, ma'am," Izabelle rejoices in her ability to have her voice remain neutral.

"You are doing well in your classes?" Madame B waits for the girl to nod, "And you are confident in your abilities?"

"Yes, ma'am, my handlers believe that I am in full control of my abilities."

"Do you believe the same?" Madame B raises a slim, perfectly trimmed eyebrow.

Shit, Izabelle thinks. "Yes, ma'am. I believe that I am in full control of my abilities."

Madame B leans back in her chair, she takes a moment to study the dark-skinned girl before her. "Show me."

Izabelle freezes. It was true that she was confident with her abilities, and most of the time she was in control but that was under controlled circumstances. "Who would you like me to turn into?"

"Me."

Fuck. Izabelle takes a breath as she wills for her abilities to not fail her, she does not know what will happen to her if she fails.

"Remarkable," Madame B smiles with her teeth at the sight of herself sat in the place of Izabelle. "And your voice? Can you change that, also?"

"Yes, I can, ma'am." Replied the mimic.

Madame B takes another moment to fully assess her, Izabelle hopes that she has managed to transform fully this time, and not forgotten to change her left pinkie like she did last time. "Yes, this will do." Madame B nods, as she brings her notebook back out and begins to write again, "You can change back, now."

Izabelle focuses on the sensation of her cells rearranging themselves to ground her, she has just impressed Madame B, it would not be good if she had a repeat of the time she had gotten distracted during the change and emerge as a monstrous mashup of the other girls and parts of an arctic fox.

Izabelle manages to keep her focus on a fixed point just above the woman, she waits with baited breath as the woman finishes her notes.

"You will be joining my Black Widows," Madame B explains, "I believe you are familiar with my star student, Natalia?" Izabelle nods, "You will continue your training with Natalia. And you will both be representing the Academy and Department X in a trial run with Hydra's new Winter Soldier program."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> 1\. мой ребенок - "my child"
> 
>  
> 
> I'm kind of merging the MCU with 616, because I don't really like MCU Natasha because they put her birthday in the 80s (???) like what.  
> anyway, just some reference to Agent Carter, and I know that it's set just after the war, but in 616 Bucky doesn't get his arm until the 50s, plus  
> Izabelle is 6 in the 50s so I don't want to go and change my own set timeline.
> 
> if you've got any questions or you just want to say hello, please feel free to comment or message me :)
> 
> also, points if you can find all of the easter eggs.


	7. one accident away from a miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We do know that plans are faulty at best, and delusion at most. So maybe all those other questions don't matter.   
> \- Welcome to Night Vale  
> Episode 42 "Numbers"

**34°57'07.3"N 42°33'35.1"W 40,000 FT, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN**

The Hydra agents give them coordinates for a fortress in the small European country called Sokovia. Because of the lack of information, Tony insists that the whole team be present.

Tony and Clint are in the pilot seats of the so-called Quinjet, Bruce is sat in one of the backrooms, trying to research the area and getting himself psyched up for the inevitable "Code Green", Steve and Natasha are sat together off to the right of the aircraft. Sam had stayed in New York, promising to keep a look out stateside just in case the Barnes shows up. The soft sound of some rock music fills the cabins.

"Who is she?" Steve asks her suddenly.

"Who?" She replies coyly, keeping her expression neutral.

Steve raises one of his eyebrows, "Come on, Natasha. Who's Izabelle?"

Natasha takes a moment to think about her answer, "She's..." Natasha pauses, "She's someone from my past."

"Is she important to you?"

"It's not that simple, Steve."

Steve stands from his seat and moves to the one next to the Russian assassin, "I just want to know where you stand with her. I need to know that I can trust you to make the right decisions when it comes to her."

Natasha keeps her focus forward. "Can I trust that you'll make the right decisions regarding Barnes?"

Steve makes a displeased sound, a frown forming on his face. "Nat-"

"No, Steve," Natasha cuts him off, he notes the coldness of her voice, "Don't ask questions you won't like the answers too."

They do not speak for the rest of the flight.

\+ + +  

**FIVE MILES AWAY FROM NOVI GRAD, REPUBLIC OF SOKOVIA, EASTERN EUROPE**

"Okay, looks like they're got an energy field surrounding their  _fortress_ ," Tony explains as they look at the three-dimensional hologram of the area. "JARVIS, says that there's a pathway under the building that will allow me to shut down the field, but I'm going to have to be close to the entrance to do that."

"So, are we going for stealth or are we just going to show up like, 'Surprise, Motherfuckers!'?" Clint asks as he leans against the wall.

Steve shakes his head at Clint in amusement, "Might as well knock on the door." He turns to Tony, "Bruce, Clint, Natasha, and I will keep them distracted on the ground, while you fly overhead and try and get the defences down, is Thor scheduled to show?"

Tony shrugs, "Last I heard, he and Dr Foster were sightseeing in Paris, but he said if we need him, he'll show as fast as he could."

Steve nods and turns to the rest of the group, "We don't know what kind of machines and specialists they have on the ground, so we're going to have to move with some caution, make sure to be close enough to one another in case someone is hit."

"What kind of vehicles do they have?" Natasha asks as she stares at the hologram.

"There appears to be multiple tanks and several Humvee's in operations," JARVIS explains, "It should also be noted that there appear to be several bunkers growing in proximity as you approach the fortress, they all appear to have operational weapons and hold numerous guards stationed in each. From my scans, I believe that the main source of power to the weapons match that of the tesseract. Perhaps they may have located the sceptre."

"Two birds, one stone," pipes Bruce from his spot besides Natasha, "I'll go and tell Thor." 

"Alright," Tony says as Bruce walks away, "Let's all suit up and wait for Thunder-cat to get here, so we can go and punch some Nazi's!"

+++

The storm the base in true Avengers fashion; with utter chaos. 

They seem to be actually getting somewhere when Clint decides to get hit.

"You're an idiot," Natasha tells him, as she injects him with the painkiller Dr Cho had given them.

"Fight me." Clint winces.

"Hulk, can you take out that bunker?" Natasha asks as she continues to cover Clint's wound, continuing with a quick "Thank you," as the bunker is destroyed by the green giant.

"We've either got mutants, or enhanced on the field." Steve tells them over the comm.

"Defiantly mutants," Clint moans.

"How are you sure?" Thor asks.

"He was a cocky son of bitch," Clint explains, "Fucking sonic the hedgehog, tracksuit wearing ass-hole."

"Watch your language, Hawkeye, Cap will put you in a time out if you don't want your mouth." Tony interjects as he flies overhead. "Oh, by the way, the shields down. You're welcome."

Natasha smirks as she hears Steve sigh. She quickly gets back to the task at hand, as the wound on Clint's side seems to look more serious. "Clint's hurt pretty bad, we're going to need evac-stop moving you idiot."

"I'll take him back to the jet," she hears Thor say, "Carry on into the fortress, and locate the sceptre; we must not lose it again."

"Hey, Nat?" Clint looks at her slyly.

"No."

"Please?"

Natasha shakes her head in amusement, "I'm not lying to Phil. He'll find out either way."

"Not if we don't tell him."

Natasha releases a short chuckle, "You're acting like he doesn't already know." She smirks as moves back as Thor lands next to the pair, and grabs the considerably paler archer. "I'll see you in a bit." She stands and starts to head towards the fortress as the two fly off.

"Widow," Steve speaks over the comm, "We've secured the forest, it's time for a lullaby."

"Understood," Natasha replies. She takes a deep breath and surveys the forest; looking for the Hulk. She finally spots him destroying an already broken tank. "I hate lullabies." Natasha mutters to herself as she heads towards the beast.

She approaches Banner carefully, making sure that he hears her coming. He turns suddenly towards her and grows, she puts her hand out and slows her pace, "Hey, big guy; the sun's getting low." Banner roars in response, and Natasha can't help but gulp in response. Finally, after a short while, Banner begins to respond to her hand movements, and she is able to run her hand along his vein and he begins the transformation back.

She feels herself slightly deflate as she watches the man return to his natural colour, however, she tenses again as she hears the change in tone in Tony's voice, "I've got the sceptre; I'm coming back now." She takes note of the shakiness. Having known the man for such a long time, she had never quite heard this type of fear in her voice before.

"Tony?" She asks on a private line, "Are you okay?"

"No," he replies bluntly, "I'll tell you on the jet."

"Copied, see you in five." Natasha can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.

\+ + +

**ONE MILE AWAY FROM RAVENOUS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA**

Izabelle stood beside the Soldier, as the watch the Hydra base from the forest.

"Каков план? У тебя есть план?" Izabelle turns towards the man, watching as he looks through the binoculars.

"Вы задаете слишком много вопросов." He replies in a low tone, irritations lightly creeping into his words.

"I'm sorry that I don't want to die." She snaps at him, crossing her arms over her chest. It had taken them three days to get across Canada, and the Soldier was not a very good companion.

"Quiet," Barnes grows, "You're distracting me." 

Izabelle huffs and throws her hands up in irritation, "Just tell me the plan and I'll be quite!"

Barnes brings the binoculars away from his face and turns to look her in the eyes. "We go in and kill them."

Silence fills the space between them.

"And how do you recon we do that? Just waltz in and start shooting?" The mutant raises an eyebrow.

"No," Barnes begins with a smirk, which brings a feeling of dread to Izabelle. "You're going to transform into me, hand yourself in, and infiltrate the base."

"The fuck I am."

"Or, I walk in with you as my prisoner and hand you over to the scientist; I'm sure there's some members from Department X that would be ecstatic to see you again."

Izabelle glares at the man, "я ненавижу тебя."

"Чувства взаимные."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> 1\. Каков план? У тебя есть план? -"what's the plan? do you have a plan?"  
> 2\. Вы задаете слишком много вопросов -"you ask too many questions"  
> 3\. я ненавижу тебя -"I hate you"  
> 4\. Чувства взаимные - "mutual feelings" -"the feeling's mutual"


	8. we are all made of shipwrecks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And as the sun sets, I place my hand upon my heart, feel that it is still beating, and remind myself: Past performance is not a predictor of future results."  
> — Joseph Fink, Welcome to Night Vale

**NOVI GRAD, REPUBLIC OF SOKOVIA, EASTERN EUROPE**

"What do you think mother and father would think of us now?" Wanda sips her coffee, keeping her eyes down. The noice from passersby almost drowns her out.

Pietro looks up at his sister as he closes the newspaper, "I don't know," He pauses, "Why?"

Wanda places her coffee down on the table and turns to look around at the other customers in the small restaurant they were sat in, "We joined the very organisation that they fought against; the same organisation that killed our grandmother. Tortured our birth father."

Her brother leans back and rubs his eyes, "We did what we had to do to survive." Pietro holds his hand up to stop his sister from replying, "Once we avenge our parents, will we also be the ones to avenge our grandmother. We know how they work, so we know how to destroy them."

Wanda finally looks up, "And then? What we will do when this is over? We will be wanted people. There will be know where left for us to go."

Pietro leans forward and grabs his sisters hands, "Our birth father. He has an island, he will welcome us there."

"But, he does not know we even exist, brother! What if he does not believe us?"

"Then we will prove to him that we are who we say we are, and if not, then I know that the Fox will help us."

Wanda pulls her hands away from her brothers, "We have not heard from her in months! We do not even know what side she is on, or who's orders she now follows."

Pietro stands from his chair and moves to crouch next to his sister, he caresses her face gently, like he did when they were children and she had nightmares, "I promised that I would never let anything bad happened to you, sister. And I know that I have failed us, but I will not fails now. I would pull all the stars from the sky for you."

\+ + +

**AVENGERS TOWER, MANHATTAN, NY**

They are all exhausted when they arrive back at the tower and they all head straight to their private apartments.

Natasha showers and changes in to her more comfortable lounge wear, before exiting her apartment and making her way to Clint's.

He's propped up on his own bed when she enters the bedroom, he's on a video message to Agent Coulson.

"Hey, Phil," She says as she jumps onto the bed next to Clint.

"Hello, Nat." Phil smiles at her. He's dressed down and even has his glasses on, he must have waited up for Clint to call, thinks Natasha as she notices the messed up blankets on the sofa behind the man.

"How's everything going on your end?" Nat asks as she grabs the chocolate bar that Clint hides under his pillows, ignoring his noice of protest.

Phil raises an eyebrow at the archer, very well knowing that Clint wasn't following his diet plan, "It's a bit more quiet on my end, May's taken the kids and the bus out for a couple of days for surveillance, so I've just been here with Lucky, not actually doing anything except watching my blood pressure rise." He sends Clint a pointed look at the end of his statement.

Clint turns to her, "I managed to convince May to force him to have a couple of days off." He says proudly, "So, he grabbed Lucky from mine and went to the farm."

"Where's Barney then?" Natasha asks.

The blonde shrugs back at her, "Don't know, don't care. I just know he's not on the farm"

Phil and Natasha quickly shared a look, Barney was always a sore subject for Clint, and it was always worse when no one seemed to know where the he was, especially since he had disappeared with one of Clint's neighbours/tenants and her two children.

Natasha turned to Clint, "I've got to check in with Tony, so I'll see you in the morning." She turned and waved at Phil as she stood and exited the room, "Goodnight."

\+ + +

She finds Tony in his workshop fixing Dum-E's latest obsession; the Roomba's. She knocks on the counter top when he doesn't react to her entering, which gives him a small startle and prompts Dum-E to whirl around in surprise.

"Jesus Christ, Nat," Tony pants, "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack."

Natasha laughs lightly as she makes her way over to the counter that he was situated at and pulls a stool up next to the man, "Aren't you meant to be sleeping?" She quirks an eyebrow.

Tony throws his head back and groans, "You're like the fifth person to say that to me."

"Sixth, sir." JARVIS interjects.

"Don't get smart with me now, buddy."

"I wouldn't dream of it, _sir_ ," replies JARVIS is a dry voice.

Natasha, remembering why she actually came down to talk to the man, places a gentle hand on his arm, "What happened at the base, Tony?"

The shift in his body language is immediate, and his face pales a little. Natasha lightly pushes him down to sit him on the stool next to her, and takes the Roomba out of his hand and hands it to Dum-E who runs off back to his charging port.

"Tony?"

The man sighs and places his head in his hands, "I think, I think, that there was, another, err, enhanced - maybe mutant in the base."

"What did they do?"

Tony breathes deeply for a couple of moments, tears begin to well up in his eyes, "They showed me something, messed with my head a bit."

Natasha strokes his head, "What did they show you?"

"You were all dead," Tony states bluntly, "You were all dead and it was my fault because I couldn't save you." Tony chuckles darkly, "I haven't felt that fucking helpless since fucking Afghanistan."

Natasha finds herself unable to come up with anything in response, she knows that Tony knows it was only a mind trick. "What are you going to do now?"

Tony pulls his hands down his face and stands up to face her, "Bruce and I are going to analyse the sceptre, then I'm going to build some shit, and then I'm going to throw a big fuck off party. You wanna know why?"

Natasha smirks, "Because you're Tony-"

"-because I'm Tony fucking Stark."

Natasha stands and pulls the man into a hug that he melts into, "And Tony fucking Stark doesn't have any time for mind games."

\+ + +

The party is in full swing by the time that Natasha makes her way down to the common area. She smiles and nods at all of the officials and other _important_ people as she passes them, she can't help be relish in the slight look of fear that flashes in their eyes when she does. She passes Sam as he chats to Steve and quickly snatches his glass of champagne, ignoring the ' _hey_ ' that follows. She pulls Clint away from the man he was chatting to before he does something he would regret and drops him off next to Maria Hill. She doesn't see Tony or Thor but she can hear them both somewhere deeper in the crowd.

Finally, she reachers her destination. The bar.

She sits down on one of the stools and watches as Bruce stumbles around behind the bar as he attempts to mix a drink. "Tony didn't tell me he hired a model to bartend, tonight." She asks in a seductive voice as she slowly sips her drink.

Bruce's cheeks grow slightly pink as he pours the drink into a glass, "That's because I'm actually a stripper," Bruce laughs.

"Even better," Natasha takes the drink from Bruce, "How have you been?"

"Been better, you?"

"Been better," Natasha smirks, "How's things going with your lady friend?"

A soft smile appears on his face, Natasha likes this smile. "She's currently doing some lectures at Harvard, she's been really nervous for weeks, but I think she's doing well."

"I'm glad, when are you going to start doing lectures again?"

Bruce shakes his head, "No, I'm not good at lectures; makes me nervous." Bruce leans against the bar, "How's _your_ lady friend?"

Natasha stares the man in the eyes for a few moments, "I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"Tell me about her."

The spy looks down at her hands, "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me something nice," Bruce says.

Natasha loses herself in her memories, "One summer, 1976 I think, she surprised me with a trip to Malta. It was the first time that we were both free for two years. We stayed in a private villa that she had brought for me, as a gift. We went out of the boat in the day and fished for food, and in the evening we'd head into Marsaxlokk, to just watch all of the people live their lives."

"Do you miss her?" Bruce asks.

Natasha sips her drink.


	9. by daybreak, we'll be gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> if you were born with  
> the weakness to fall  
> you were born with  
> the strength to rise  
> \- Rupi Kaur

**HYDRA BASE RAVENOUS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA**

There are little things that make Izabelle nervous, but walking into enemy territory, disguised as a wanted man, as said wanted man went through with a plan that he refused to share with her, made her nervous.

The last time she had visited this particular base, it had not ended well for either party, and was something that she would rather put behind her. Out of all of the unsavoury persons that the woman had to work with, she hated Department X, or as they liked to be called, "Weapon X", with a passion. It was times like this that she wished she had taken Erik's offer to live on Genosha.

Izabelle, or rather, the Winter Soldier is apprehended by four armed guards as he approached the base.

"Hold," one of them demands as she holds her gun in shaky hands. "State your name and business."

Izabelle remains silent, giving the guards what she hopes is her best Winter Soldier Glare. She assumes it works when the guards begin to squirm and look at each other unsure of how to proceed.

"It's the Winter Soldier," one of them says, "I don't think he speaks English."

"Does anyone speak Russian?" another asks. "Isn't he meant to be AWOL anyway? I thought we lost him after the thing with SHIELD."

The guard that approached her first rolls her eyes at her colleagues, "Why don't one of you dipshits just fucking radio in? And tell them that we've got the Winter fucking Soldier in front of us?"

"Oh yeah."

⟣⟡⟢

Unfortunately for Izabelle, the person that they send to retrieve her is Viper. Also known as Madame Hydra.

Izabelle had the pleasure of running into the mutate woman on several different occasions, even working with her on some of those times. However, the two had clashed during their meetings, and she knew that the Hydra High Council member would not hesitate to kill her given the chance.

Once the doors of the entrance close behind them, guards swarm her while Viper turns and smirks.

"Well, солдат, not that it isn't a pleasure to see you again," Viper looks her up and down with a small snarl, "But, it came to our attention that a certain fox may have made contact with you."

It takes too much will power than she's like to admit to not flinch at the way that Viper spits her names. She almost expects the slight spit that falls from the womans mouth to burn her. However, Izabelle remains stoic. She's getting good at this whole Winter Soldier business, maybe she should have tried to follow through with the program.

"Well?" Viper raises an perfectly plucked eyebrow.

Izabelle slowly pulls out a small bag that was attached to her belt, she gently tosses it to villain. The woman in green slowly opens the bag and pulls out a bloody hand and a managed eyeball. Both of which previously belonged to Izabelle.

Viper's eyes light up with a strange joy at the sight of Izabelle's severed parts. She places them back in the bag, "Perfect. Two birds one stone."

⟣⟡⟢

Izabelle has been in multiple situations in her long life where she knows that normal people would not be able to stomach what she sees. She liked to believe that she'd become almost desensitised to most of it, however, as she walks through the Hydra base she feels her stomach churn and dread fill heavily in her chest as she witnesses the true extent of the Weapon X program.

Men, women, and children alike scream from their cells as they undergo the rigorous testing that the program deemed necessary. Izabelle, herself, has only had to experience the program on two previous occasions. Both times, she had almost broken, and both times Natalia had been forced to put her back together.

As the cells merge into grey concrete the entourage she has assembled pass through into the medical wing of the facility. Looking equally grim, Izabelle can't help her wandering eyes as they peak into the glass panelled rooms.

She recognises some of the unfortunate souls she sees behind the glass, both allies and enemies alike now owned by Hydra. A shame. She has to avert her eyes when they meet the piecing gaze of Agent Jack Rollins, as he sits and watches what Izabelle assumes is a physiotherapy session for a rather burnt up Brock Rumlow.

Once this was done, Izabelle was going to hit the Winter Soldier.

Right in his snowballs.

⟣⟡⟢

**AVENGERS TOWER, MANHATTAN, NY**

"Rhodey, Honey-bear, light of my life, my beating heart with arms and legs." Tony smirks as he buts into the conversation, draping himself over his best-friend as James shoots the people he was talking to an apologetic smile as they excuse themselves

"Why?" Rhodey asks biting back his laugh, "Why do you torture me?"

Tony huffs in faux offence as he drags Rhodey over to a quieter corner. "Shut up, I saved you and you know it."

Rhodey chuckles at the slightly shorter man, "I was working on it. You don't have to swoop in every ten minutes."

"If I didn't save you -"

"- save?"

"- every ten minutes then what kind of knight in shining armour would I be? All of the other damsels would shake their head in shame."

"Are you suggesting I'm your damsel in distress?" His eyebrow raised.

"No," Tony shakes his head, "I'm not suggesting anything. You are my damsel in distress."

Rhodey sips his water with amused eyes locked on his best friend. "What's up?"

Tony curses internally at how easy Rhodey is able to read him, he makes a note to take Natasha up on the body language training. "Just a lot going on in my head, you know how it is."

Rhodey doesn't make a sound as he quickly brings Tony into a tight hug, "Just tell me when you're ready to, okay?"

Tony nods into Rhodey's shoulder before pulling back and blinking back the tears that started to gather in his eyes, not quite remembering them watering in the first place. "So..."

Rhodey groans, knowing exactly where Tony was going. And by the dirty smirk on his face, Tony knows exactly how much Rhodey wants to talk about this.

"How's Carol?"

⟣⟡⟢

Steve openly laughs at Sam's face as Natasha saunters away with his fresh glass of champagne. Mostly due to the fact that they had spent the last twenty so minutes chasing down the waiter with the champagne.

"Why?" Sam throws his arms up, "Why does the universe hate me, man?"

Steve shrugs his shoulders and sips his own drink - Asgardian mead, curtesy of Thor - in order to try and contain his amusement. "I'll get you another drink in a bit."

Sam rolls his eyes with a smile on his face now, "Okay, I don't want to be overstepping anything between us or offending you, but I've gotta ask; is, was there anything between you and Barnes? You know, from before?"

Steve stiffens up, and a blush starts to emerge on his face.

Sam puts his hand up, "I'm just asking because if, I mean when, we bring Barnes back, have you thought about how that might effect you and Tony?"

Steve crunches his face and rubs his eyes with his free hand, "It's... it's complicated. Like there was always an almost with Bucky. And now there's an almost with Tony, but it's different because now this almost can actually become something. So, it's complicated."

Sam nods his head in understand and pats the super soldier on his arm, "It's alright, man. As long as you're aware of it."

Steve gives him a grateful smile, which Sam returns. "You know, more and more everyday, you keep moving up on the list."

Sam quirks his eyebrow in confusion, "List?"

"For my successor."

"Steve, what the fuck?!"

⟣⟡⟢

**HYDRA BASE RAVENOUS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA**

Izabelle is lead into a room with covered in computers with a single chair in the centre. The agents that had escorted herself and Madame Hydra, disperse throughout the room. A tense feeling settles over the room, Izabelle notices as hands flex around their guns and anxious eyes watch her every move.

Suddenly, the room is interrupted by the doors swinging open revealing a bandaged, crutch wielding Rumlow, followed closely by a distressed looking Rollins', clearly attempting to stop Brock before he had reached the room.

"Can I help you, Agent Crossbones?" The Viper sneers.

Rumlow remains silent, opting instead to stare at Izabelle, or Barnes, with such an intensity a lesser agent would have pissed themselves. Finally, after a moment he speaks slowly, "Leave me with him."

"What?" Viper exclaims, "You, Agent, are in no position to be giving orders-"

"Leave. Me. With. Him." Rumlow snarls in an animalistic way, "I was his handler last. That means that he is still under my jurisdiction, not yours. Which means that in this situation, I outrank you. Ma'am."

The two members of Hydra stare each other down for what seems like forever. The lesser agents and Rollins watching with bated breath. The spectacle reminding Izabelle of the two elephants she and Natasha had seen on holiday once; right before they started fighting to the death, mentally scarring several unfortunate children in the process.

Finally, Viper stands down, relenting to Rumlow. "Fine, but make it quick, the Asset is to be reset in twenty minutes." She raises her hand and her agents begin to spill out the of the room, she follows after them, purposely knocking into Rumlow's, clearly injured, shoulder as she passes.

With a subtle nod from Rumlow, Rollins follows her out.

"And then there were two."

⟣⟡⟢

It takes ten minutes of Rumlow beating the shit out of her for him to finally allow the scientists into the room to begin the wiping.

Izabelle really hopes that Barnes hurries up.

As the scientists enter the room, a glass wall lowers itself, behind the wall stands several armed guards and a smirking Madame Hydra. The scientists are trapped with the Winter Soldier, Izabelle watches them as they practically vibrate in fear. She also notices several tubes opening into the room, which will no doubt at a moments notice either fill the room with a nerve agent, or - most likely - poisonous gas.

One of the scientists begins to approach her, after a sharp glare from the Viper. Izabelle recognises her as one of Coulson's kids. He's been a busy man, Izabelle thinks.

She allows herself to be lead to the chair, however, as the woman begins to strap her in she whispers to her, "You're going to want to be leaving this room in the next five minutes if you don't want to make Phil angry."

The woman's hands freeze around the head restraint, "Why should I listen to you?" She asks as she quickly returns to fastening the head restraint.

"Just because they call me fox, doesn't mean I always play tricks." Izabelle says just as the woman steps back.

The scientist nods her head in what Izabelle hopes is understanding, as she goes to exit the room. She glances back at the person in the chair before she exits.

Madame Hydra gets an alert on her communicator, just as the preparation for the chair begins. She seems displeased at what ever she's being told, and with one last quick look at the Soldier she storms out of the room followed closely by four of her guards.

Only one scientist remains on the same side of the glass as Izabelle, and two guards on the other. One holding a device connected to the wall, finger hovering rather closely over the big red button.

Realising that the call must be about Barnes breaking into the control room, Izabelle decides that its high time that she begins her escape.

The scientist left with her is new, his hands are too shaky and his skin is too freshly sun-kissed, plus he's wearing his obvious fear on his face. Fear that Izabelle latches on to.

She begins to cry.

The scientist stops immediately.

So, she begins to beg.

"Please," she whimpers, "Please don't. It hurts, it hurts so much."

Unfortunately for the scientist, he still has an ounce of humanity inside his body. He looks to the guards for guidance, but they're just as shocked. However, the scientist begins to proceed and approaches her, mouth guard in hand.

Time to kick it up a notch.

Izabelle reaches out to the mans mind, searching for his weakness. His mother. How boring.

Slowly, Izabelle's voice morphs from the Winter Soldier's into the mans elderly mothers. This time he drops the mouth guard in shock.

Slowly, Izabelle begins to change her body to match the voice; latching onto his most recent memory with his mother. Just as the scientist runs over to press the release button, the guard with the button yells into his walkie;

"We've been tricked, I repeat we've been tricked; it's the bloody Fox, I repeat, it's the-"

The explosion cuts him off.

⟣⟡⟢

**AVENGERS TOWER, MANHATTAN, NY**

They're all sat around watching in amusement as Clint and Tony attempt to lift Thor's hammer. Rhodey long since given up trying to help the two, opting instead to heckle them as Sam throws bits of cookies at them.

After Steve managed to move the hammer, however little it actually moved, the two had been determined to move the hammer, at least further than Steve had. And after Bruce had respectfully declined the three separate requests of letting the Hulk have a go at it, the boys had to get creative. Which explained why Tony has attaching a gauntlet to a piece of string which was attached to one of Clint's boomerang arrows ("why?" "because... boomerangs.").

However, good things never last long for the Avengers.

"I once had strings, but now I'm free... There are no strings on me."

⟣⟡⟢

They stand in the aftermath of the destruction, watching as the light goes out in the bots eyes. Just as Thor and Steve turn to Tony, clear anger present on their faces, the man himself runs from the room at a speed Natasha didn't believe he possessed.

"Where is he going?" Asks Maria.

Suddenly, Rhodey exclaims "JARVIS." Before following the man at a similar speed.

All at once, it dawns on the rest of them what Ultron had said.

⟣⟡⟢

They find Tony on his knees staring tearfully at a bundle blue holograms, Rhodey is kneeling besides him trying to get the heartbroken man to look at him.

As Natasha approaches her can hear the faint whispers fall from Tony's mouth, "Not JARVIS, not again, I can't loose him again."

Slowly, the rest of the group approaches and they begin to envelop the man in a group hug.

⟣⟡⟢

HYDRA BASE RAVENOUS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Together, Izabelle and the Winter Soldier stand side by side as they watch the Hydra Base burn to the ground. Both look a bit worse for wear, Barnes sporting a few scratches and torn clothing, while Izabelle stands covered in blood, none of which belonged to her.

"I really fucking hate you." Izabelle tells him as she turns her head up the sky, letting the sun dry the blood on her face.

"I know."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> 1\. солдат - "soldier"


End file.
